EverRising
by Alanstuff
Summary: David is a green soul in a post-Everfound New York. At first all is well under the weary Nick, but then David learns of the mysterious power he possesses. A power unseen by the universe, and a power so dark, no one can save him
1. chapter 1

Alan: I do not own some of the characters mentioned in this story. Enjoy!

David woke with a start. His thoughts were jumbled. He vaguely remembered the alley, the men, the yelling, then the ear-splitting gunshot. He moved his hand to a fresh hole, the size of a dime, in his grey jacket. The tunnel, the light? Yes! He remembered, he touched the light. David sat up. He never had 20/20 eyesight, but the world around him looked uncannily blurry. Sounds seemed muted. The only thing in focus was himself and a circle in the ground, about 3 feet in diameter. He looked around and noticed a boy about his age sitting on the nearby dumpster. "About time," the boy said.

He looked weary, like a babysitter who had to deal with a two-year-old with imsomnia. "I'm Nick." Nick was dressed in a leather jacket, a white dress shirt, and a tie. "David," David groggily muttered. Nick wrote that on a piece of paper and handed it to him. "In case you forget." David wondered why he would ever forget his name. "Where am I" He asked. "Manhattan," Nick replied. "When?" "Nine months after" David hated vague responses. "After what?" Nick stopped walking and turned around. "After when you think we are."

"I'm dead," David's hand again crept towards the hole in his jacket. The skin underneath was smooth and untouched. "Sorry." Nick tried to look sympathetic, but David guessed he was not the first to go through this routine. "What happened?" Davids memory was still not straight. "From what I can tell, you got mugged." David was having trouble walking. The ground seemed to be made of some thick goop that sucked him in. "Where are we going?" He was starting to get a little fed up with Nick's odd answers. "Look at the skyline. Anything new?" Another vague answer. David scanned the urban horizon of New York. It was all the same except for the-"Oh My God." The twin towers stood tall and erect. Unlike the rest of the distant buildings, the World Trade Center was in perfect focus. David was so intoxicated he didn't see the school bus until it was a foot away. It was an old school bus with chipped yellow paint. In the driver seat sat a boy who looked about nine, but expression told otherwise. he looked like he, and may well have, hadn't smiled for years. "All aboard," He said


	2. EverRising Chapter 2

Alan: Again, I do not own some of the characters in this story

Nick explained the rules on the drive. Different thing everyday, rent for a month, blah blah blah. The first one sounded odd. What was Nick thinking? People would get snapped up into some repeated routine? As they neared the late World Trade Center, David noticed two odd, brief flashes outside; on what looked like the the fifth and seventeenth story. "What were those?" David asked, noticing a slight smile on Nick's face as he looked up at the areas of the flashing. "People consulted with their coin. You just got lucky. Some newcomers have to wait for an apartment to open up." There Nick went again. Another vague answer. It seemed to be the only answers he could give. The bus stopped next to the fountain and the three afterlights hopped off. "Take a break, Conner. You've earned it." The bus driver, Conner, nodded and walked away. David noticed for the first time the long scars running down Conner's face. "If everyone rents for a month, why does he look like he's been here so long? And how does he know how to drive a bus?" David was really hoping he could finally get a straight answer. "Connor's body is not dead. He's really in a coma. While most of those afterlights skinjack their own bodies, his has suffered severe brain damage. If he were to return, he would be in a living hell. So, since he's not going to fully die for another, maybe, sixty years, we gave him a crash course in driving and now he picks up greensouls." On the bright side, Nick's response made much more sense. Unfortunately, David had no ideas what greensouls and skinjackers were. So, he followed Nick up to floor seventeen, and stepped into his new room. The view was amazing, although the buildings in the living world were blurry, the window acted as as a kind of large pair of glasses, making the styline look at least fifty percent better. "As I said, stay here for a month, after that, come see me in my office." Nick's words jarred David back into his senses. The view was just so mesmerizing. Nick pulled out some scotch tape and stuck the paper with David's name to the wall. "If you have any problems, I'm on floor 30 of the other building." Great. That would be a long walk. After Nick left David decided to do a little exploring. The place wasn't so bad. There was an arcade, lots of sports equipment, most people were nice. After a week, he had relaxed, and was enjoying afterlife at the twin towers. Life, or death, or whatever, was normal and easy. Then, the end of the month came. It was time to consult the coin.


End file.
